


If A Door Shuts, Open It Again. That's What Doors Do.

by CentralFirstLibrary



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: As serious as it is its also funny, But its an au, COS but when Edward passes through the gate to our world its a more modern, Canon: Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa, I don't plan on it being very shippy either, This is Edward's story, but it might just happen, closer to our time, him getting used to our world, meaning there is no reason for the gate to be destroyed, our tech and our lives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-02-18 21:59:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13109337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CentralFirstLibrary/pseuds/CentralFirstLibrary
Summary: “H-Hello...Where am I?” Sitting up his head turns and stares right into a mirror. His hair. It’s short. His eyes aren’t golden anymore. They’re just brown. His hand reaches up to touch his face and he pulls at his cheek. With wide eyes he jumps up from the bed he was sitting on and stares at his hands. He stares at both of his flesh hands. He lets out a loud shout and looks around his- no this can’t be his room. What the hell is going on here? On the desk there is a photo. It’s him and a dog. He picks it up only for it to slip out as the bedroom door flies open.“Edward you better be dressed the protest is starting soon and I made bre-” The man goes silent as Edward bends down to pick up the shards of glass. Edward’s eyes go wide as he sees Hohenheim standing in the doorway. “Don’t use your hands you’ll cut yourself. Reckless boy. Let me go get the vacuum.” All he can do is stare at the door as his father walks away. He stands up holding the photo in his hands.“What the hell is a vacuum?”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone. Just to brief up what I wrote in the tags. This is an Au off of COS. When Dante sends Edward through the gate it doesn't bring him to 1921 England. It brings him to England but closer in time to our age. This is a story of Edward learning about our world, our tech. Getting used to a life so advanced in a world he doesn't belong it. I'm afraid I do not plan on this story being shippy for a very long time. That being said it might go that way. I'll keep you guys updated on my plans for this story as we get farther into it.

   There are so many stairs. Even if the Trighams tried to join him it would take them some time to catch up. The more he walked the darker it got until he lost track of how far he has walked. It’s been so dark, it’s only when a light falls through a crack and hit him in the eye does Edward sigh in relief. All that tension comes flooding back where it came from as his eyes widen at the sight of warped buildings. The silence leaves a ringing in his ear as he walks over to a ledge just taking it all in. The letter was true. A whole civilization destroyed in one night. Only a monster could do a thing like this. His hands ball up into a fist and he shouts out, “Are you in here Dad?” He steps out again and shakes his head. “You did this! You came up with the whole plan didn’t you? Tell me!” He grinds his teeth together and walks around looking at the buildings stopping when a faint sound of music catches his attention. Clapping his hands together creating a staircase to bring him down following the melody. The music brings him to a large building, the lights are still on and the music is louder now that he is standing at its stairs. Taking a deep breath he walks up to the doors and pushes them open. Gold eyes go wide as the a familiar face is spotted dancing around a large ballroom. “R-Rose…?”

   Coming to a stop she turns and smiles at him. “Edward…?” Edward tenses up and stares at her. Something is wrong. She’s lifeless. A doll being moved around by the thinnest threads he cannot see. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

   He shakes his head and looks up at her as she walks closer. This dress is wrong. Everything about Rose is wrong? Why is she even down here? He has to find out what is going on here? Rose takes his hand and smiles again pulling him close spinning him around. The two dance in silence. Until it gets to him. Maybe he can get some information out of Rose like this. “Uh..Rose what are you doing here?” Hand in hand she continues moving the two of them around the floor only stepping back to get a better look at the blonde.

   “I’ve been waiting for you…For us.” Her smile grows and she tilts her head to the side her dark cheeks flushing red. “Edward…I love you.” Ed’s cheeks follow suit with a blush of his own.What? Why would Rose say something like that to him? After everything that has happened to her? After what those soldiers did to her? Edward does not deserve those words.

   “You do?” Shaking his head he lets go of Rose and takes a step back pushing her in the process. “Look, Rose. I don’t think you realize what you just said to me. We’re just friends-” The sound of a baby crying cuts him off. His eyebrows furrow together as he turns around. Standing there with Rose’s baby in her arms is Lyra. Wearing a pink dress in the style almost identical to the one Rose is wearing. Rose walks past Edward to go comfort her child taking him right out of Lyra’s arms. Lyra turns her attention to Edward and shakes her head at him.

   “You couldn’t give her one little dance? Seeing as she has been waiting here for you ever since she came into hiding.” She glares at him and sighs. “You’re despicable.” He knew it. Everything about this is fishy. Nothing is making any damn sense and he needs to get to the bottom of this before things get crazy.

   “Lyra? Why did you bring Rose to this place?” Lyra crosses her arms under her chest and walks to him.

   “Before Dante died-” He tenses up. Strike one. She was murdered. No one says a murder victim died and they definitely don’t say it so calmly. “-she told me about a city that only old alchemists knew about. It sounded safe.“ This is too fishy for his liking. His gut was telling him this is bad. That this is wrong. The last time he ignored his gut Alphonse lost his body and Edward lost his limbs.

   "I know you said before that Dante had been murdered but, you were awfully vague. You never told me who did it or why.” The room feels like it's spinning as he tries to put the puzzle pieces together and it's the smug look of Lyra’s face that finishes the big picture. As if she knows things that he doesn’t and she doesn’t intend on letting him know anytime soon. But he knows what’s going on. Now he just has to act on it and confirm it for good.

   “That homunculus named Greed killed her.” He grinds his teeth together. The way she doesn’t even flinch at his question and retorts an answers so smoothly. There was no way Greed killed her. The circle to seal Greed away was already set up with the remains to weaken him close by. No matter how much he tried Greed couldn’t land even a clean scratch on her despite her age. He knows Lyra is lying and he doesn’t hesitate to tell her that. He stands just as still as the woman in front of him. Two can play at this game. “That’s all very interesting but I saw her corpse with my own eyes.”

   “That proves nothing except that the body she was squatting in could no longer serve its purpose.” He stares her down angrily. Never moving from where he is standing. “Let’s say the philosopher's stone could be used to jump from one body to another. That would make a human capable of living for hundreds of years.” Unmoving Lyra stares at him with a tired expression. Tired of listening to Edward go on and on about this theory of his. No. Edward knows it’s not a theory. He knows this tired look is one of her being tired of hearing the truth being spat back in her face. “I think Dante faked her death and used the stone to take over a younger body. A body like yours would be just the right fit.”

   “Edward-” the way she changes to pitiful so quickly even Edward has to admit she’s one hell of an actress.“-stop it. It’s not true!” Before she can even try to continue he claps his hands together and drops to the floor making a long spear to throw at her. Before it reaches her, Lyra claps her hands together and makes the spear parish in thin air. Without a transmutation circle. He knew it. That’s all the confirmation he needed. “That was too close.”

   “When did you see the gate? That’s the only way you can transmute without a circle and Lyra couldn’t do that before. Your secret’s up-” He shakes his head angrily.“-Dante..” she relaxes visibly in front of Edward but he can tell her guard is still up. She’s still hiding something from him.

   “When did you find out? Fair son of Hohenheim.”

   “So it’s all true?” With a smirk she assures him that everything he said was and is still true. “So how many times have you jumped bodies?” She lets out a soft chuckle and looks away shrugging her shoulders. She has no shame. No guilt. No remorse over her actions.

   “In four hundred years you can lose count.” Lyra- no. Dante turns back to him smirking. Is she proud of herself? “It’s less than ten. After all I had to use the philosopher's stone each time.” That explains what happened to the city. The underground city was the product of human sacrifice to make a stone for them to keep living. “It was the same with the city in the east, but I was not the one to make it happen.”

His father.

   “No it was Hohenheim of light.” He spits out. Dante chuckles at his words. Telling him not to be so formal. To call the man Dad because that is who he is, no? “Did he live this way too? Stealing bodies? Creating wars? And for what purpose?”

   “Because we were worth it.” Edward balls his hands up into fists. The frustration growing in him. Because they were worth it? What sort of bull shit is that. All of those lives taken away for the stone…All because they were worth it? He wants to shout and get furious. The war. The suffering. No one is worth all that pain. All for the stone. To keep it away from humans for they don’t have the ability to handle it. Look at what happened with Cornello in Liore. They must see themselves as saints for handling the stone. They must live on to keep the humans from destroying the world themselves.

   “Don’t kid yourself!” Ed shouts as he steps forward. “You’re a human just like us!” Rolling her eyes she sighs and shakes her head. Truly done with how childish she believes Edward is being.

   “Not. Anymore.” The two lose focus of each other as Gluttony breaks down the door pushing things around. Screaming. Crying out for Lust. “You’re breaking my heart Edward...Talking to me this way.” Dante moves turning over to cradle Rose in her, filthy greedy, arms. “I was looking forward to taking her body and being loved by the son of Hohenheim.” Edward steps forward and bares his teeth. Furious. Losing control of his temper. Curse this damn woman. She was planning on taking Rose next? “Yes. I have to celebrate the making of the newly born stone.” Stone? He steps forward again. There goes his control. A new stone?

   “What have you done with Al?”

   “No no! What have you done with Lust?!” The homunculus charges at Edward and bites down on his broken down automail. Tears in his eyes. Screaming out muffled chants. Demanding Edward bring back Lust. All Edward can do is look at the beast with pity and explain. Explain that Lust is gone. She is dead. Wrath was there when it happened. There is no bringing her back. All he can do is apologize. “She’s gone..?” He lets go of Edward’s arm and falls down rocking back and forth as he holds onto his feet. Dante scolds him. He’s a homunculus. A monster. He shouldn’t be feeling any emotions much less grief. Gluttony walks off, stumbling on his feet as he doesn’t pay attention to where he walks.

Whimpering for his only friend to come back.

   Edward turns back to Dante and claps his hands. No more distractions. He is ready to fight. “Let’s do it!” Dante follows suit clapping and touching the floorboards of the ballroom. A large snake like creation throws itself at Edward as he turns his automail into a blade. He jumps into the air and runs down its spine charging himself at Dante. He cute through her dress. Exposing the rotting flesh on her chest.He stands back as she uses alchemy to fix herself. “I knew it. Your soul can’t sustain bodies anymore it's been attached too many times. Equivalent exchange. Everytime you jump you lose a part of yourself.” Scoffing she lets her hands fall to her side. Finding herself bored with Edward already.

   “Equivalence? Don’t tell me you still believe in that naive theory.” Theory? It's not a theory. The whole world lives by it. “The truth is the law of equivalent exchange is a lie. To gain something of equal value must be lost? Conversely if you give something up you will always gain a prize of equal worth in return.” Of course. That’s why people work so hard. They work hard and their efforts are paid off in the long wrong. It’s the truth of how everything. How could someone not believe in the world's one and only truth? “Equal effort does not always mean equal gain.” His eyes widen at this. What the hell is Dante going on about? “Consider the state alchemist exam which you passed with flying colors. How many others took the test that day? Spent months- _Years_ preparing. Some working much harder than you.” Edward was the only one who passed. “What about the equal value of each person’s life?”

   Clapping her hands together again the snake moves and takes the baby right out of Rose’s arms carrying it at a height that would definitely kill him if Dante just clapped her hands together or if he just fell. Without any hesitation Edward uses alchemy to break down the beast catching the child carefully in his arms.“Don’t use a child to fuel your agenda!” With a scoff a smirk grows on Dante’s face.

   “Your dad said that too.” As Edward turns to hand the child back to his mother a transmutation circle begins glowing on the cloth wrapped around him. The last thing Edward hears before standing in front of _the gate_ was the wailing on Rose’s son.

 

* * *

 

 

   “H-Hello...Where am I?” Sitting up his head turns and stares right into a mirror. His hair. It’s short. His eyes aren’t golden anymore. They’re just brown. His hand reaches up to touch his face and he pulls at his cheek. With wide eyes he jumps up from the bed he was sitting on and stares at his hands. He stares at both of his _flesh_ hands. He lets out a loud shout and looks around his- no this can’t be his room. What the hell is going on here? On the desk there is a photo. It’s him and a dog. He picks it up only for it to slip out as the bedroom door flies open.

   “Edward you better be dressed the protest is starting soon and I made bre-” The man goes silent as Edward bends down to pick up the shards of glass. Edward’s eyes go wide as he sees _Hohenheim_ standing in the doorway. “Don’t use your hands you’ll cut yourself. Reckless boy. Let me go get the vacuum.” All he can do is stare at the door as his father walks away. He stands up holding the photo in his hands.

   “What the hell is a vacuum?” His hands fly up to his head and he rubs his eyes. “God damn this headache is killing me.” When he looks up his father has this...Contraption in his hands and pushes a wire into the wall. He flicks a switch and its painfully loud. Edward lets out a shriek and stands up on the bed. “What the hell old man? What the hell is that thing?!” He shouts watches Hohenheim use it to clean up the broken glass. His father turns and shuts the machine off putting it to the side. He stares up at Edward and tilts his head to the side.

   “Are you okay? You aren’t acting like yourself.”

   “That’s fantastic because I really don’t feel like myself either old man!” He jumps down from the bed and looks out the window. So many tall buildings. How the hell did someone build them. “Where the hell am I? And what happened to my body? Did Dante do this to me?” Facing his father he can see the man has become tense. Hohenheim grabs his face and forces him to look in different directions. He sighs and talks in a softer tone as if he didn’t want anyone to hear him.

   “Does the word transmute mean anything to you?” Edward pushes the man away from him. Too close to him to ever be comfortable. Edward could punch him for asking such a stupid question.

   “Of course it does! It means everything to me.” Hohenheim sighs and takes a seat on the bed and pulls at his face. “What the hell is going on? Where are we?” Edward crosses his arms over his chest. There is no way he is sitting down and have a man to man sit down with his bastard of a father.

   “Let’s eat, come down stairs until we can figure out why you are here.” Hohenheim leads him out the room and down a small flight of stairs. His eyes go wide at a large black screen on top of what he thinks is an icebox. He sits down and stares at it as his father puts a plate of food in front of it. The older man reaches out to the table and grabs a black box with a bunch of buttons on it. He points the box to the screen and moving pictures shows up on it. Edward bites his tongue while trying to eat as he slips out of his chair. Startled.

   “What the hell is that thing?” He glares at Hohenheim who chuckled at his fall. There is nothing funny about the culture shock Edward is going through right now.

   “It’s a television. Radios advanced. Moving pictures turned into films with sound. This is how people in this world get their news. Their entertainment.” This world? What the hell is he talking about now? “Haven’t you noticed. This is the other side of the gate. In this world machinery and physics advanced as its science instead of alchemy. Believe me it took me a lot of time to get used to.” Slowly Edward stands up and stares at Hohenheim. He remembers now. Dante and Rose. The baby had a transmutation circle on him and the gate opened and took him in. He remembers everything the gate showed him. He grabs his head and lets out a pained groan. Everything hurts. Edward’s eyes widen as he hears a soft _Hello? What’s going on?_ It clicks. He’s in somebody’s body. He flinches and looks up at the feeling of a hand on his shoulder. No the other Ed’s shoulder. This isn’t his body all of this is wrong. He needs to go back.He needs to save Rose. He needs to get back and save Alphonse.

   “Eat. We can figure out a way to get you back home later but you need to just play it cool. We are going out to protest with your friends and they are expecting you to show up.” His friends? Protesting. No there’s no time for that he needs to get home right away. He inhales his food at a speed he normally would but turns out this Edward doesn’t have the same style of eating habits as he does. He finds himself choking a lot, much to his father’s amusement. He learns of this world. It not only drifted away from alchemy from the very beginning but it also was one hundred years or so ahead of time. He learns of cell phones. Medical procedures. He learns of violence. And wars. And the truth of what powers their alchemy of the other side of the gate.

   “You sound just like that headcase Dante!” He slams his hands on the table, knocking over his glass of water in the process. “All the same crap about there being no equivalent exchange…” Hohenheim sighs and turns his head away. The feeling of guilt is evident on his face. Edward glares at him and balls his hands up into fists. Snapping. “I know everything. I know that the two of you were lovers because I read the letter. I know that the two of you were keeping yourselves alive jumping from one body to another.” His nails dig into his palms, he knows he’s breaking skin but its the one thing keeping him from punching the man. “But what I don’t understand is if you and that evil _bitch_ were so perfect together why did you feel the need to marry my mother?” It takes everything in him to keep his voice from breaking. “Did you get some sick satisfaction from pretending to be a normal human?” His head drops and his hands fall to his side.

   “I loved your mother.” Edward’s eyes go wide as he stares at his lap. “With all my being I have never loved until her. You have to believe that.” Edward bites his lip and takes a deep breath and slams his hands on his legs demanding an explanation for everything. So frustrated with everything. He just doesn’t understand any of it. Hohenheim stands up from his chair and kneels down in front of his son. He rolls up his sleeves and exposes his arm. Rotting and burning. Eating away at itself. How could he ever let his children see him like this. It was just too much for him to handle. He had to go. He had to leave them. Another sacrifice he had to make. The most painful one of all. “I will help you find the gate within yourself that way you can get back to your original body if you will give me the chance.” Edward looks away from his father and sighs heavily. That’s all the answer Hohenheim needs. The man stands up and rolls his sleeve back down before walking over to the sink to wash their dishes.

   “So...A protest…?” Hohenheim nods in silence. “You told me about a lot of things, What are we going to fight for today?”

   “Racial injustices.”

   “Of course.” First Ishval and now this? _When will people stop being targets just because they are a different shade of skin._ Oh. That was him and this world’s Ed thinking at the same time. The headache is back but he laughs it away. Even in a world where there is another physical copy of him they aren’t that much different. It’s nice to know that even in a different world Edward still hates bigots.”What kind of clothes do people here even wear?”

   “Go through your closet, it seems people here don’t mind your horrible sense of fashion.” Without hesitation Edward throws an apple at the back of his head and storms off to go get into clothes that aren’t what appear to be pyjamas. Sighing Edward makes his way up the stairs and walks back into the room where he came from. Style hasn’t changed too much. It’s pretty comfortable too. He throws on a hoodie and a pair of jeans. He slips a set of shoes on and goes downstairs. “Let’s leave, we have to walk to the train station. I think you’ll like to see how advanced everything is here.” With a silent nod they walk out the door. There is just so much.The buildings. Multiple stores in just one tall building? It's all so amazing. All these buildings have large screens on them. Televisions as his father called them. The one thing that really got his attention was when they got on the train Hohenheim gave him a cell phone to mess around with.

   He ignores all the staring. This is amazing. No cords and you can still call people from countries away? You can take photos on them? He still doesn’t understand the concept of videos but he thinks they are amazing. He almost forgot about having to go back home. But there’s a lady on the train that reminds him far too much of Rose. The toddler in her arms waves at Edward and he waves back. Whatever is going on he needs to get it over with fast so he can go stop Dante from destroying his little brother. As his father stands up he follows suit. He guides Edward out of the train and down the street.As they continue walking it gets harder to walk anywhere. There’s a crowd. “We are he-”

   “Hey guys Ed’s here!!” He looks around and suddenly he being dragged off by this world’s Russell and Paninya. His eyes widen and he turns to look at his father. What is he supposed to do? He doesn’t know what to do what to say. He doesn’t know enough about this world’s problems to be able to fight for it. He only knows of his own. He knows of Ishval and the war. He knows of the bombings. The slaughter and cruelty. Is that enough to be able to fight? No from what he hears they are nonviolent protests. Most of the violence was caused from people against the protests and the police taking the wrong action.He feels a hand on his shoulder and turns. His father.

   “I’m going to get you kids some coffee. Don’t do anything stupid please.” All he can do is nod before he is dragged farther into the crowd. A person climbs onto a step stool and beings getting the crowd to chant. Preaching their message. Making sure that they can be heard. Edward balls his hands up into fists. Even in his world people are struggling with racism? Is there even a world where people don’t have to worry about being killed for looking differently?

   “This is such bullshit...How many more massacres are there going to have to for people to get some goddamn respect?” He covers his mouth after realizing he had just said that all outloud. Someone pushes him forward and cheers him on. What do they expect him to do? Preach? Edward is no preacher. He looks around and sighs. The person on the stool extends their hand out to him and he just stares for a moment. With a smirk he takes their hand and stands at their side. His words are true. As true as they are for the people surrounding him. He finds himself changing his words around so they can relate to it. He smiles and looks around the crowd. For his father. There’s so many people he probably can’t make his way through. He feels his hand get squeezed by the girl at his side. He looks at her. Fear. “What’s wro-”

   “The cops are here.” He looks over and sees the crowd part so the police could walk up to them. They tell them to get home. To cut this out. That it isn’t going to solve any problems. They won’t leave. They grab her hand and Edward grabs the officer's hand. Stopping him. Not going to happen. Hohenheim told him too much about what the police riots have done. All the innocent killed just for sticking up for what was right.

   “You know. We aren’t going anywhere. We aren’t blocking traffic. We aren’t loitering. So you let her go right no-” Ed’s gaze snaps away as someone lets out a scream. There’s a loud pop and the crowd scatters. He feels a pain shoot up his right shoulder and he stumbles forward. With every blink of his eye more people are gone and he can’t register what is happened until he looks up and his father is carrying into some sort of vehicle. He reaches out but his arm hurts to much. He turns to look at what's wrong and his arm is bleeding. The people around him are holding him told and putting pressure down trying to stop the bleeding but there's too much. “I was shot?” His father takes his hand and squeezes it. “Shit...Shit I’m dying? This sucks…” He shuts his eyes and lets out a chuckle. “This really sucks..” He wheezes out and finds himself clapping his hands before his arms fall to his sides.

The Gate.

   His eyes widen as he looks around but the gate doesn’t give him a chance to make any sense of what just happened. Edward gets pulled in and he fights it. He thrashes around. Running forward until he sees another set of doors. He pushes through them with a shout. 

 

* * *

 

 

   With a gasp he looks around. The ballroom. “B-Brother?” He looks up and see’s Alphonse laying on the ground the light of a transmutation circle catching his attention.

   “Alphonse…?” He looks down at his arms. “My automail...Im really here?” He bites his lip. The other Ed died? His life taken so he could get back to his world. To the other side of the gate. Edward shakes his head and frowns. That Edward shouldn’t have died. Its his fault. A familiar voice catches his attention and with a sad smile he looks over and begins to pick himself up from the floor. “Doctor Marcoh? I never did know where you went.” In an instant his smile fades and his angry. He knows what’s going on now. Marcoh, in a flash of light, transformed into another familiar friend. Maes Hughes. Dammit. Envy is playing tricks on him.

   “Sure you did Ed. After all you were the one who found the old Doc’ and just waved goodbye as he went into the Fuhrer’s custody. Now that was a great idea.” No that wasn’t what Edward wanted. He just wanted answers. He just wanted to help people but because of that Doctor Marcoh is dead.Consumed by Gluttony. It’s his fault. He grinds his teeth together and jumps up, dodging a throwing knife in the process. “I’d still be with my wife and my adorable little girl if I hadn’t met you. It must be tough fighting against a friend that you already killed once!” Hughes- No. _Envy_ charges at him with a knife but Edward is able to slip past them and hold their arms behind their back. Edward puts Envy in a chokehold from behind, bringing them down to the ground.

   “Is that all you got?” He spits out. His arm squeezing around Envy’s throat tighter. “Impersonations with guilt trips attached? You’ll have to do better than that. You’re still a homunculus under that face. Have you forgotten what I did to your friend Sloth? I killed her while she was wearing the face of my own mother.” As if Edward had given the monster the idea, Envy changes their face into Sloth making Edward hesitate enough to punch him in the stomach. Edward glares and claps his hands together. Ready to really fights but freezes in his stance.

   “I’d reconsider the use of alchemy if I were you.” Edward scoffs and lifts his hand ready to place it against his automail. He wants to put an end to these bastards who have been toying with him for too long. As if he would listen to Dante. The fucking nutcase.

   “Go ahead and use it if you want.” He glares over at Envy. The bastard. “It’s not like I care what happens to your brother.” Edward tenses up and looks over at Alphonse. All because of the stone inside of Alphonse he can’t fight with alchemy. He can’t bring Envy down. What is he supposed to do? He doesn’t get time to think. Before he knows it Envy kicks him and he has to do this the old fashion way. Hand to hand. He balls his hands into fists. Punching. Kicking. Fighting in anyway he can until he has Envy pinned down to the ground. With every change of face Edward slams his fist down onto Envy. Yelling at him.

   “Don’t hurt me Edward-” His mother.

   “Edward please stop it!” Doctor Marcoh.

   “Calm down-” Hughes.

   “Give up kid. You don’t have what it takes to kill me.” God damn Roy Mustang. With a smirk Edward’s fist slammed down against the face of his superior officer. That felt way too good. The easy face to be his punching bag. It quickly got old. All of these faces. All of these disguises.

   “Show me what you really look like!” He swung his fist down repeatedly. Calling Envy a coward for turning into people he cared and still cares for to get to him. To try and make him weak. It’s just pathetic.

   “Do you really want to see it?” Edward goes to slam his fist down on the monster once more but it stops right above Envy’s face. He’s shaking at the sight of person beneath him. There is only one way to get features like the one Envy is wearing. The golden hair and the eyes just as yellow to match. He tenses up and is stuck. Unable to comprehend what is happening. This is too much confusion for one day.

   “Envy was the very first homunculi created by Hohenheim almost four hundred years ago. The result of the failed human transmutation of our son who died prematurely to mercury poisoning. I could suppose you could say Envy was once your...Brother.” Staring down at Envy he has so many questions but his voice is caught in his throat the only sound leaving his mouth is the sound of his shaking breath.

   “But then he abandoned me started fresh with his perfect wife and kids. Needless to say I never did like being replaced.” In a flash of light there’s a pain in his chest and Edward chokes on his own blood as Envy tosses him to the side. Letting the large hole inflicted on him drain out. A large pool of blood forming underneath him. It’s all too fast. He’s bleeding too much. It’s happening all over again. The last thing he hears is Rose screaming out to him darkness consuming him once more.

The Gate.

   Why is it in front of him again? He looks forward and for a moment he swears he saw Alphonse in front of him but he quickly disappeared when he blinked. He whispers out for his brother but Envy shows up by his side. “W-What’s going on? Where am I you worm?” Why does he feel so calm? No feeling of having to fight the homunculus in front of him. He looks past Envy and sighs softly. Completely relaxed.

   “The gate.” He points as Envy turns around walking up to it. Taking in its glory before looking back at Edward. Having the gaul to ask what is on the other side of it. “I don’t know. For me it was a place called London, if I remember correctly, that’s what my old man said.”

   “Old man?”

   “Yes.”

   “You’re telling me he’s still alive?” Envy turns back to the gate walking up to its doors and begins trying to pry it open. There’s nothing Edward can do but stand there. It might not even take Envy to where their father is. “I’ll tell it exactly where to take me.” The tendrils reach out and bring Envy through, the gates shutting right after. Watching Edward stands still. Tears stream down his cheeks as his body feels warm. Remember he had just seen Alphonse here. Where did his little brother go?

   When his eyes open he looks forward and Rose is looking down at him. Thank goodness she is okay and looks like her normal self. He tells her he is okay and feels the tears start up again. He wipes them and sniffles. Confused. “What am I crying for…?” He looks back at his hand. His _flesh_ hand. The one he lost bringing- “Al?” He sits up and reaches over feeling his leg.They’re both his original limbs.

   “He used Alchemy to bring you back, Ed...After you died.” He turns to Rose. Terrified and worried. All he could think of was Alphonse. The one family he really had left.

   “The philosopher's stone...He used it to fix my body and pull my soul back from the gate. B-But then what happened to him?” Rose tenses up in front of him. The expression what the only answer he needed. “Don’t tell me...D-Don’t tell me he’s gone Rose..” He stands up quickly and looks around the ballroom. His little brother. He can’t be gone. They were going to do this together. They were going to get their bodies back _together_. This shouldn’t be happening. He screaming out for his brother. Why is he gone? This has to be some sick twisted joke. He tenses up and goes silent has Rose’s son begins crying. It’s happening all over again. A never ending chain of self sacrifice. Once the baby calms down he helps Rose stand. “You better get moving..I hate to ask this but can you take him to the surface too?” The both turn and look over at Wrath. If that boy had been human he would have been dead from bleeding out by the look of the pool of blood beneath him.

   “What about you?” Even after everything she is still worried about him. Well he did just die.

   “I’ll destroy this place down to the last plank. So no one ever gets the idea to create a philosopher stone this way again.”

   “Very well. I’m sure whatever happens you’ll find your way out. You’ve got strong legs you’ll get and use them won’t you Edward?” Oh. Why did she have to use his own words against him? At a time like this. All Edward can do is let off a smile. A smile that took a lot of effort to force onto his face. Rose turns and walks towards Wrath. She folds the baby’s blanket so it can hang off her shoulders. Giving her the ability to carry both her son and the broken homunculus. She picks the boy up and walks over to the doors. Rose turns to Edward one more time. Not knowing it would be her last time seeing the blonde she waves her hand and smiles.

   Edward waits until he is sure Rose is long gone before getting to work. As he takes a deep breath Edward claps his hands together and presses it down onto the floor, a transmutation circle forming beneath him. He looks around and walks over to a window punching it until it shatters. “That was a lot easier when my leg was a hunk of metal.” He mutters under his breath and peels his shirt off. He bends down picking up a piece of glass. He bites his lip as he drags his the glass across his arm. With the blood he draws symbols on his chest, his forehead, and each of his limbs. Edward stands in the middle of the transmutation circle.

   If everything Hohenheim had said is true both Edward and Alphonse’s original bodies should be within the gate. Al’s soul should be there too. Maybe life has no equal trade. Maybe you can give up all you have and you will receive nothing for your sacrifice. Even if there is no way of proving it is true-

   “I have to try.” For the sake of his little brother. He shuts his eyes and claps his hands slowly pressing down on his chest. He can feel it. The warmth of the light of the transmutation going to work.He was going to save his little brother. But the warmth quickly faded and was replaced with a scorching pain. His body was on fire but whatever he was laying on was cold. He let out a scream as the pain was unbearable. Biting down on his teeth he looked around. Where the hell is he? Is he back on the other side of the gate? Sighing he goes to push himself up but falls over letting out another pained grunt. What Alphonse had given back to him was gone once again. Why can’t they ever be happy?

   Slowly he pushes himself against a wall and softly calls out for his father. The pain begins to subside and it excites him until he realizes it’s because he is losing so much blood. Biting his lip he fumbles around taking his shoe off. He peels his sock off of his foot and tries his hardest to put it on what’s left of his arm. Hoping it will help stop the blood. He does the same with his leg, tucking what’s left of his pants under his leg. He sighs. Exhausted. Out of breath. Dying in an alleyway he doesn’t even know. In a world he doesn’t know. “Hohenheim…” He repeats. The one person who can help him.

   “Holy fuc-” Edward looks over at the stranger in front of him and sighs. “Shit shit shit what the hell happened here?” He blinks and he’s not on the floor. He’s moving? No he is in that vehicle he was in when he got shot in the other’s Edward’s body. The people are asking questions but he has no idea what they are speaking. Cretan? Or whatever this world equivalates to Cretan? He wheezes out and begins coughing. Until everything becomes blurry again. When things get clearer the sun is up. He looks around and goes to swallow. His eyes widen when he begins coughing. There’s something in his throat?! He squirms in his hospital bed he is laying in trying to get this thing out. A lady walks in and stops, dropping her clipboard as she turns out the room yelling out for someone. Another woman comes in and pushes him down the nurse helping her keep him down. He tenses at a needle is pushed into his arm. He thrashes around and swings his arm socking the nurse right in the jaw. Only to be taken by exhaustion again.

   He lets out a tired a groan the next time his eyes open and looks around, flinching when he sees Hohenheim sitting in a chair a book in his hands. He goes to rub his throat but his arm is chained down to the bed. He sighs and looks over at his father again. “Wh-”He breaks into a fit of cough and his father stands up pouring him a glass of water. “What’s going on…? Where are-” Their eyes turn to the door where a bunch of doctors walk in surrounding Edward. Questions- well he thinks they are questions he can’t understand a damn thing they are saying. “God dammit can someone just fucking let me talk to my shit head of a father first?!” He shouts making the room go quiet. His father glares at him and sighs translating probably not a single word Edward said but the Doctors leave so he’ll take it. “Thank you...Now can you tell me what the hell is going on?”

   “You tell me Edward. What the hell happened when you went back and what did you do to get here?”

   Edward falls silent, not knowing how to explain to his father what has happened in the past few hours. He sits up and looks down at his lap. Trying to put everything together, it was all a blur. “Al-” His eyes widen and he looks around the hospital room as if his little brother would appear in front of him. “I-I...I saw Al at the gate. His...His body was put together in front of me. I sacrificed myself...Why am I still here?” He turns to his father and frowns. He shouldn’t be alive. Hohenheim stands up and leaves the room. The doctors come back in and start asking him questions; his father acts as a translator for them all. Once the doctors leave again Hohenheim shuts the door, taking a seat in front of Edward on the bed.

   “We need to come up with a story for who you are and what happened. I will work on making you a citizen; you just- Dammit. I will take care of everything just try not to do anything stupid.” Edward sighs and lays back down staring at the ceiling. What is he supposed to do here? He can’t speak their language. He’s missing his limbs. Do they even have something like automail here? He’s doomed. Even if alchemy worked here he couldn’t do it. “You’ll be in the hospital for a while. Maybe even months. I’ll go bring you some books. You can read and even learn the language.” Edward doesn’t even look at him but he knows Hohenheim has left once he hears the door click. The doctor took off the strap on his arm so he can now lay more comfortably. It feels like when they tried to bring their mother back to life all over again. Those months of being useless in the wheelchair. Winry looking down at him. She would feed him and try to get him to read. It was only until Mustang came by did he find his reason to live again.

   Shutting his eyes Edward sighs and runs his hand through his hair. He’ll have to get someone to braid it for him. A chuckle slips past his lips as he thinks about getting one of the nurses to do it for him. He can remember going up against Scar and his arm broke- no it was destroyed. Armstrong was the one who braided his hair for him when he was unable to. Taking a deep breath Edward pulls the blanket up to cover himself. It’s not the first time he’s gone without an arm. He’ll survive. He’ll survive and make his way back to his brother’s side by the time he is let out of the hospital. Edward finds himself falling asleep until he hears the door open again. He turns onto his other side and opens his eyes. His father has returned with a nurse. Both of them are carrying heavy stacks of books. Edward slowly sits up and reaches for a book but his father slaps the hand away.

   “They are in order you should read them in. I am giving you a month to learn German. After a month if you still do not have it down I will only speak to you in it. You can respond in English or in German. You just need to be able to get by here. At least know what the doctors are saying so you can make your own choices.” Edward glares at his father and takes the first book placing it on his lap. “These are all language books. I’ll get you some history books later.” Edward doesn’t respond he just gets to reading. His father is giving him a month? He’ll get it done in half that time just to spite him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it took a long time but I was struggling to get this to where I wanted it to be. I wanted everything to be perfect about this so it took a few rewrites. It's here now though. I hope you guys like this. I know I do.  
> Edit Made January 19th 2018: I made a key for the different languages because I didn't want to be one of those people who used some shitty translation site to get the other languages. So things have been changed and Edited please give it a read over again.  
> Key: Bold + Italic = German  
> Bold = French  
> Normal = English

   Half a month was the plan. There was no way that was happening. Despite reading everyday, even after a month he doesn’t have the language down. His father lived up to half of his bargain, Hohenheim only speaks to Edward in German and boy does that make things difficult for him. The only help given to him is from a nurse that brings him his meals. She speaks Amestrian, which he found out is referred to as English in this world. She helps him study and when his father is out at work or is doing whatever deadbeat fathers do. The first sign of snow is what helps him relax in his work. It makes Edward wonder, what day is it even here? Does this world run differently when it comes to dates and the seasons of the year? Are the months even the same? Edward's head shoots up as Sophie, the nurse who has been helping him, comes into the room with a tray of food. He puts the book down and nods shifting on his bed. “Sophie. What's the date?” She blinks and puts the tray down as she sits at his side taking the book from him. Checking his work.

   “September fifteenth.”

   “And it's already snowing?” She nods and smiles at him. Sophie is a sweetheart even in this world. She still has a cat and she doesn’t shut up about it. She's the only one of the staff he's met that hasn't commented on his eyes. In the world it's not normal to have golden eyes. He can only imagine how these people would react to the ishvalans. He snorts and looks out of the window as he shoves his sandwich into his mouth. After coming into this world he found himself not being able to eat as much. It was all the confirmation he needed that Alphonse is alive and well. Edward always believed his eating habits came from the idea that he was eating for two. Taking a deep breath he puts his sandwich down listening to Sophie tell him how snow always comes early in this part of Germany. Sometimes the roads close off with all the snow they get. Their eyes turn over as Hohenheim walks into the room with a new stack of books. Together they practice German until Edward falls asleep with his face in a book again.

   This is normal for him. It always has been. When he wakes up there’s a new meal on his bedside table and his father is gone. It’s so cold. He looks around and reaches for the remote at his side. He sits the bed up more and smiles at the remote. The technology is this world is amazing. It makes life so much easier. He is in love with it. He presses the green call button on the remote and shifts. Waiting for a doctor to come and change his bandages. They’re getting smelly and uncomfortable. As he waits he reaches for his meal. The food here tastes different. Almost medicinal. That being said it's all good. Edward isn’t one to complain about food unless its rotten. A doctor walks in a Edward frowns. His german is not good enough for this lady and his accent makes it impossible for some of them to understand him. They always ask where his accent is from. They’ve never heard a foreigner like him. “ ** _My….Arm? The bandages?_** ” He points to his arm. What’s left of it. “- _**Can you just get Sophie?**_ ” The doctor nods her head and leaves the room. It takes a while for them to come back. His cheeks flush as Sophie comes into the room. Not in her work clothes.

   “Is everything okay Edward? Doctor Martin grabbed me before I left to go home.” Frowning Edward shifts and looks at Sophie. He asks for his bandages to get changed. They’re bothering him and he would do it himself if he could. Sophie turns to Doctor Martin and then leaves the room. Edward takes care of the bandages on his leg while Doctor Martin fixes the ones on his arm. They throw away the bandages and Edward is alone again. They aren’t too bloodied they’re just to catch what little blood comes out when he moves in his sleep. The scabs are turning into scarring. This will be his last week in this hospital. He will be moving to a different one so he can start physical therapy.

   This world has prosthetic that are so close to what they have in Amestris. It’s so close to automail it’s exciting for him. It’s a shame only the incredibly wealthy can get the treatment he is getting. His father told him about the surgery. Told him he won’t feel any of it. He wishes it was the same at home. Chills ran down his spine at the memory of the pain he went through the first time he had surgery. Speaking of his father, Hohenheim walks into the room with a smile on his face. Edward glares at him. “Who the hell are you flirting with now?” His father shrugs his shoulders and sits down stealing some of the food Edward has yet to touch. “Fuckin Pervert.”

   “There is a child whose mother is in this hospital who is very sweet-” Amestrian thank goodness.”-She was telling me about her dog. Makes me want a dog.” Edward nods and carefully pushes himself onto his wheelchair. “ ** _Where are you going?_** ” Edward glares at him again and pushes himself to the door in his hospital room.

   “I have to take a shit, old man and I am not doing it in that tin can thing they gave me.” He reaches for the door and swings it open far enough to give him enough time to push himself into the bathroom. He does his business and sits back on the hospital bed. He hates this part he has to get his father to wash his hand for him. Soon this won’t be a problem. He’ll have a new arm and leg. He’ll be back on his feet and can start working on getting back home. There’s no reason to stay here. He needs to get back to his side of the gate and make sure Alphonse is okay. Edward runs his hand through his hair to dry it off before turning to the side letting Hohenheim put it up for him. He goes to read another book but he’s getting cabin fever and he can’t sit still. He hears his father snort at his struggle so he throws a book at him smacking him right in the face. It makes him fall back off the bed. Edward bursts into a fit of laughter and slowly drags himself to the edge of the bed to check on the man. His laughter grows as he sees the mess his father has become. “That’s what you get you bastard.”

 

* * *

 

 

   Sophie gave him a potted flower the day he left to get transferred to the new hospital. His new room was huge. If he had any friends in this world he could probably have ten people fit comfortably in here when they came to visit. “It reeks of cleaning chemicals in here…” He mutters under his breath as he is seated onto the new bed. Edward sighs softly and relaxes instantly. Even the difference in the softness of the bed is crazy. Not that he minds. Edward could sleep on a train using his brother’s armor as a pillow at anytime. It was thanks to his crazy teacher leaving them on that island. As the EMT’s leave Edward’s eyes widen as a familiar redhead walks into the room looking down at a clipboard in her hands. Tears prick at his eyes and he turns away.

   “Mr. Hohenheim and Edward how are you- Are you okay Sir?” Edward bites his lip and dries his face putting on a smile as he turns back to her.

   “I’m okay, even better seeing that you speak english.This asshole has been trying to get me to speak German but I just can’t get it.” He keeps drying his face before chuckling. His father is still going to talk to him German until he does become fluent but at least he’ll have it easy here.

   “English is my first language but I was adopted into a German family...My name is Doctor. Eiselstein. I will be helping you with your physical therapy after you wake up from surgery next week. Is there anything I can help you with anything before leaving?” Edward shakes his head and Hohenheim follows her out. Edward is left alone for a few moment and he sighs trying to put himself back together. It was bad enough he saw Sophie but now Armony? Does that mean others who have died could still be alive on this side? Hughes. Winry’s Parents.

His own mother.

   His stomach tightens at the thought but he swallows the bile as his father walks back in the room. Not bothering to ask about his behavior. He can read Edward like a book and it makes him so uncomfortable. The man barely knows him but can tell everything Ed is thinking like he’s known him for hundreds of years. As if he never left them all those years ago. He can tell by the way he is acting the doctor, Armony Eiselstein, was someone close to Edward. An important face. It’s not the first time Edward has seen a doppelganger of her so it hurts more. He would think with dealing with Envy taking the faces of those close to him he would be used to seeing them. It’s something he will never get used to no matter how hard he tries. Edward sighs and looks at the flower Sophie gave him and smiles. It’s going to be a long time before he can get back home. He hates taking things slow but by the look of it that’s the only way to go.

   As if taking it slow couldn’t get any worse. His surgery had to be rescheduled because Ed hasn’t gone through the proper vaccinations. Hohenheim passed it off as his late-wife being Anti-Vaccines and that’s why Edward was homeschooled. It was a struggle with Edward to get them all done. He will forever hate needles. It’s a good thing Clara is still the same in this world. Hasn’t changed in her ways of distracting her patients.

   He keeps studying. Edward has been in this world for four months now. He wonders if time passed the same way at home. He’s able to converse with his doctors and the little girl that passes his room after visiting her father. His own father tells him that he is proud of him. For most people it can take years to learn any language. He pulled it off in four months.

Edward hates how happy those words make him.

   The books get replaced.History books from all over the world. This world has so many countries.Some the size of central itself. The amount of languages is amazing to Edward. Hohenheim gets him some books on French and Russian and he finds himself picking them up almost instantly. They are so close to Drachman in their own sense. Learning all these languages keep him busy. The surgery is in a week and it’s making him nervous. Especially after Hohenheim explained to him how it will all take place. They will be drugging him so much he will be in a state of sleep so deep he won’t feel anything. That even when he wakes up he’ll be slightly high. Armony assures him he’ll be alright, that its normal to be nervous before a big surgery like this.

   The little girl, wishes him good luck and makes him promise to show off his new limbs to her. Her name is Rosalie, Edward learned that last week. He guides her back to her father’s hospital room, carefully pushing himself in his wheelchair. He waves goodbye and makes his way back to his room where his father is messing around with a cell phone. “A new one? Wasn’t the other one good enough?”

   Hohenheim looks up and rubs the back of his neck sheepishly as Ed throws himself onto the bed. “ _**It’s actually for you**._ ” Edward sits up and stares at his father. He doesn’t need a phone. He doesn’t even know how to work one of those. “I figured I could teach you how to use one so you can get a hold of me at anytime.” Edward nods and shifts to sit at the end of the bed, closer to his father. Hohenheim hands him the phone and goes on and on. Edward is still in awe with the technology of this world. Man when he gets home no one is going to believe anything he tells them. Moving pictures? Movie pictures with sound you can watch on a phone no matter where you are? He wouldn't believe someone at first either.

   Edward doesn’t bother with letting Hohenheim teach him how to text. It’s too confusing and he can’t get his head around it. He knows how to call, it’s not that different from using a landline like the ones at home. Armony teases him for not knowing how a phone works and he yells at her. “I am not old fashion!”

   “What kind of teenager doesn’t know how to use a cellphone?”

   Edward glares at her and takes the phone out of her hands. Claiming he can learn how to use it in by the time he is ready for surgery. He messes with it everyday. Laughing to himself as he pictures Winry trying to take it apart just to put it back together so she can figure out everything about it. Each day he neglects his French studies to play around with the phone. It’s addicting. It helps him when he can’t sleep. He likes the music it can play. He likes that it makes his surgery arrive quicker. Until the day of surgery is actually here.

   This is actually happening. Hohenheim pulled his hair up into a bun for him and tucked it into a cap. The doctors dragged Edward into an operating room, on the way there he swears he spotted Rosalie waving at him. His father waits outside the room and that’s when his anxiety crazy. The doctors had to calm him down several times before putting him under. Into a land of cold nothingness.

Before his eyes opened he could have sworn he saw the gate again.

   Looking around his room he groans and tries to sit up but the extra weight on his body makes him fall back. “He’s awake again…” Edward looks over and smiles. He reaches out a takes his brother’s hand squeezing it.

   “Al what are you doing here?” Alphonse frowns and shakes his head. “What’s wrong?” Alphonse leans forward and smiles. Mouthing words he cannot hear and lip reading has never been one of Edward’s specialties.

 

* * *

 

 

   His eyes open, for real this time, and he feels overwhelmed. Tears fall down his cheeks as he slowly sits up. He leans to the side and lets both arms catch him. He winces and looks at his new limbs. This is it. This is like his watch. A symbol to keep him going. These prosthetics are his promise to get back home and get the legs that Winry made. Keep on working and getting his body back to normal. Looking around the room he wipes his eyes and sighs. He’s alone. If anyone walks in on him crying he’ll blame it on the drugs in his system. It takes some time for him to calm down and when he does the doors of his room open and his father walks in. His head drops and he keeps it tucked away. His father is the last person he wants to be vulnerable around. “ ** _How long ha-_** ” 

   “Please speak Amestrian. I swear if I start talking in German like this I’ll never be able to go back.” He spits out, the words coming out before he can even think. Hohenheim goes quiet and takes a seat beside his bed. No words are said for a long time. Even when Armony comes to check on him. The silence is tiring and he just rolls onto his side. Unable to sleep too busy thinking of why he saw Alphonse. Questioning if it was the drugs that made him see his brother or was it the gate? When his eyes open he feels someone brushing his hair. He knows it’s greasy and he is in desperate need of a shower. They won’t let him take a proper one yet. His limbs are nowhere near ready to support his weight. Maybe he can convince his father to wash it for him.

   No convincing was needed. All Edward did was ask and his father left to go get the supplies. Keeping his eyes open isrough. He is tired and his body feels sore. He tells himself it’s okay. It could be worse. At least he wasn’t awake for the process. The door opens and at his father’s side is Armony. “Ah you actually are awake? How are feeling?”

   “ **I could eat a whole pig**.” Hohenheim lets out a chuckle and turns to look down at a confused Armony. “It’s the only thing I can say in French but its the truth. I’m hungry.” He presses his hand to his stomach and shivers at the feeling of the new cold metal. He lifts the prosthetic and sighs. “Can I go to the cafeteria or something I-”

   “Go ahead. Little Rosalie has been waiting for you to wake all day.” He can’t help but smile at the mentioning of the small child. “I’ll take you lets go.” His father moves to his bed and pushes the wheelchair to Ed. With a little bit of struggle he manages to get himself situated and his father pushes him out of the room. As they make their way down the halls Edward finds himself trying to curl his toes. Small movements. “You can move them already? Move your fingers.” Edward smirks and turns his head. Smugly flipping his father off making a nurse walking past them giggle into her clipboard. They make a turn and slip into an elevator. Edward presses the button before his father can. Getting himself used to how sensitive he has to be when it comes to using his right arm. The doors open and standing in front of themis a teary eyed Rosalie.

   Edward tenses up and goes to stand but his father pushes him down. No standing yet, Armony’s orders. The little girl looks up and frowns, throwing herself into his arms. She’s rambling too quickly for him to understand anything she is sobbing about. All he can do is rub her back and frown up at her mother. “ ** _I’m Edward. Rosalie-_** ” he takes a deep breath and rocks her back and forth. Doing all he can to calm her down. “ _ **-Met me on her way to the bathroom a couple months ago.**_ ” Her mother flashes a soft smile. Edward knows that smile, he gave the exact same one to Rose before sacrificing himself all those months ago. “ _**Rosie? You hungry? I was headed for the cafeteria.**  _” The little girl looks up and wipes her tears turning to get her mother’s approval.

 

" ** _Food will make you feel better._** "

   Edward kept Rosalie in his hold as they ate. He even fed her as she messed around with his new right arm. After eating her mother, Kristie, took her home. The two blondes retreat to Edward’s hospital room. Ed proceeds to fall into what Hohenheim refers to as a food coma. When his eyes open his shoulder is sore and his father is asleep, hunched over using Ed’s legs as a pillow. He makes slow movements and covers Hohenheim with a sheet. It’s too cold for anyone to sleep without a blanket, even if it is pretty warm in his room. He can only stay still  for so long. He is not waking up his father all so he can take a shit. Carefully he pulls his legs out from under Hohenheim and swings them over the bed. It takes a lot of effort to walk over to the bathroom. He’s lost a lot of muscle. Armony tells him he’ll gain it back in no time. As hard as it is to believe at the moment he knows it true. This isn’t the first time he has gone through getting new limbs.

Hopefully this time it will be his last.

 

* * *

 

 

   “Curl your to-”

   “I am curling my toes!”

   “Just do it again!”

   They’ve been at it for the past half hour. Edward has been doing really well now that Edward’s port has properly healed. Armony even lets him walk as long as he uses crutches. Rosalie visits him during Physical Therapy. Hohenheim calls her his little cheerleader. When he’s relaxing in bed she will sit at his side with Kristie and they both help her learn English. It’s good practice for him as well. This are going well. If he continues at the rate he is going he should be out of the hospital in no time. He’ll find his way home. Figure out what he has to do to open the gate and find his way to Resembool. Everything is going to be okay. He is going home. He can’t afford to wait any longer.

   He pushes himself almost too far with every session. Armony scolds him for it everytime. Telling him he’ll only bring more damage to his body if he keeps it up. He knows what he is doing. If he could do this at the age of six he can do it again ten years later. He has been far too relaxed here in Germany; things could be going to shit over in Amestris. He needs to make sure Al is okay, to make sure Dante is gone for good. It keeps him up at night, he writes notes as his father sleeps. He knows he could get the answers from Hohenheim but that means the man would have to be willing to give him said answers. Which he would never be. So it’s up to him to get them.

_How did I get here in the first place?_

   He sacrificed his whole being to bring back his brother. There has to be more to it. If that was the end of the explanation he wouldn’t be alive. Something else was taken. The only body parts was his arm and his leg. Nothing internal. The doctors would have said something about it. “Something else was taken…” Edward whispers into his palm, looking down at his writing. Despite his father’s ( And that bitch Dante’s ) words, he believes in the law of equivalent exchange. He’ll have to find the rest of that answer later.

_How did Hohenheim get here?_

   Maybe in finding out that answer he can figure out a solution. Dante. She forced him onto the other side of the gate. But before all that? They used the stone to body hop and get on this side of the gate repeatedly. “God dammit!” He slams his fist onto his lap, instantly regretting it. He has forgotten how much automail can hurt. “F-Fuck…” He shakes his head and takes a deep breath. He will not use someone’s life like that. It was bad enough he even _considered_ it back when the homunculi cornered him and Alphonse with the help of Tucker. Bad enough a stone was used to bring him back to life when Envy killed him all those months ago. He was never going there. No one needs to die to fix this. This is his mess. Enough people have died because of this. Enough—

   Edward tenses up as he feels his father move. Hohenheim slow sits up and looks over at his side with a tired smile. That fact that they have close makes Edward feel cold. He hates it. That when his father spends time with him he can genuinely smile in his company. He finds himself forgiving his father and he hates that. “What are you doing awake so early?”

   “I could ask you the same thing.”

   His father sighs and stands up from his chair letting the blanket fall onto the cushion. Edward watches him, keeping his book hidden in the darkness. “I’m going to get some coffee. Do you want any?” Edward nods and watches his father leave him alone. Once the coast is clear he tucks his book under his pillow and rolls onto his side pulling the blanket up over his shoulder. He’s asleep by the time his father comes back. His dreams give him ideas, clues even, on how to get home. If only he was able to remember them when he woke up. If only if he could open up that little gate inside him that his father referred to when he first crossed over. He would be able to get to see the truth again. He could get home again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo. Hit me up with Kudos and comments. Subscribe and go try giving my other fics a read.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please remember that changes have been made to the previous chapter so please reread that before continuing with this one
> 
> Language Key:  
> Bold + Italic = German  
> Bold = French  
> Normal = English

   “Edward please slow down!” He turns his head and glares at Armony as she scolds him from the other side of the walkway. She has finally taken Ed outside for physical therapy, thanks to all his non stop nagging, despite the snowfall. He couldn’t stand being locked up in that hospital anymore. God dammit he needs to get out more.It’s his last month of physical therapy that he needs to live in the hospital. Soon he’ll take the train to the hospital for it and it will be cut down to twice a week until he doesn't need to go anymore. “You are going to slip!” He shakes his head and turns to her walking backwards slowly.

   “They shoveled this morning and they put salt down! I’m wearing good shoes too. I’m fi-” gasping louding he lets out a groan as his head hits the curb of the sidewalk. He bites his lip and slowly sits up looking away from Armony as she helps him up. Not admitting defeat anytime soon. “You’re gonna make me continue inside aren’t you?” The only answer he gets is a nod. Sighing he stands up and follows her to the hospital doors. They take the stairs to his room instead. A compromise of having to go back inside. She leaves him alone in his room. He’s waiting for Hohenheim to return. He’s pulling a lot of strings for him. Signing him up for some classes in a college where he works at a few cities away. Once he is out of the hospital he’ll start learning. Working harder than ever to find a way back.

   He’s focusing on learning this worlds science. It’s different. Everything. They have discovered more elements on this side. Their chemistry, physics, even their constellations are different. Space travel has been achieved. They landed on the moon for heaven's sake. This world is so advanced they have to have the answer somewhere. Edward filled his notebook quickly and still hasn’t found it. Hopefully getting into this university will help him find his way. He hears the door shut and that’s what takes his attention away from his studies. “Hallo Edward!” His eyes widen and he smiles at Rosalie. “ **_Mother is letting me study English!_ ** ”  She takes a seat as her mother follows her into the room putting a basket of treats at his bedside table. She keeps him company makes him feel happy and relaxed. Rosalie tells him she has a tutor teaching her english. That her goal is to learn the language as fast as he did to make his life easier.

   They leave him alone right before his father returns. A box in his hand and a smile on his face.

“I think we have something to celebrate.”

   The two blondes discuss their new course of action over apple pie that Hohenheim bought from the market. Edward has been accepted into Munich University of Applied Sciences and will be starting classes in the winter trimester after the new year. “Two more months. Think you can wait that long?” His father joke as he puts his book down. Edward turns to Hohenheim with a large slice of pie still in his mouth.

   “No more momphs?” His father reaches out and hands him a napkin nodding his head as he sits up in his chair.

   “Yes, October starts tomorrow.” Edward takes a deep breath and puts his slice down looking outside. Taking in everything. The first time he’ll spend October third without being able to visit his mother’s grave. “It’s a lovely building, I think you would appreciate it.” Edward turns to his father and nods taking the pamphlet off his bedside table. It's cool looking. In this world they would consider it vintage but for him it's a sense of home. He'll feel comfortable there. He tosses it to the side and throws his legs over the bed standing up and walking over to the television to turn it on. “There's a remote for a reason.”

   “Shut up, old man. I'll use any reason to stand up and walk around.” Hohenheim lets out a soft chuckle. Edward has a good feeling about all of this. Home doesn’t seem too far away now. They spend the rest of the day watching TV. It helps Edward with his German. Keeps him on his toes. It helps the time pass. Keeps him busy. It makes him forget a day he swore to never forget.

 

* * *

 

 

   “ **_Are you really leaving?_ ** ”  Edward frowns down at Rosalie and ruffles her hair gently. She takes his hand and squeezes it tight not wanting him to go yet. “ **_Promise you’ll visit us?_ ** ”  He gives her no verbal answer. All she gets his his metal pinky wrapped around hers. Together the two men walk through the streets until they make it to the train station. It’ll be the first time he sees his father’s apartment. Edward won’t admit it but he is actually really excited to go check it out. To go to the university and learn more. He knows that he might not find his way home, even if he doesn’t he is excited. Maybe he could go to space.

_Edward Elric a space explorer._

   Just thinking about it makes him excited.But it’s just thoughts. He needs to get home. That is his main goal. Nothing else matters but getting back to Amestris and being at his brother’s side. The train ride is short compared to the ones he’s been on before. It’s only about a half hour before they arrive in Munich. It’s more urban. It’s loud and bustling. It reminds him of the small time he spent in london. He finds himself taking out his phone and taking photos. It’s amazing. His father has to take him by the arm to make sure he doesn’t get hit by a car as they arrive at the apartment. He pockets the phone, he’s finally getting used to it. Every little thing he learns about it turns him into a child of this world. Armony would tease him until he became red in the face. It’s not his fault he doesn’t know how to do a lot of things. Even the concept of computers freaks him out. All the information in the world in the palm of his hand.

   Hohenheim leads Ed inside. There are boxes lying around still. “While I have been here in Germany I lived in a one room apartment but I moved into this one so you could have your own room. There’s three so you can pick which one you want.” silently Edward nods his head and looks around the apartment. He makes his way to the kitchen and stares at the stove running his hand on it. What the hell? How does one use this? There’s no way for a flame to be made here. He turns and watches his father stand beside him turning a knob. “It’s electric. The top heats up and it’s easier to clean. I’ll show you how to use it later.”

   “I-I knew that.” Edward huffs and walks out of the room slowly his head peeking into every room. He picks the one bedroom on the first floor simply out of convenience. He hasn’t had his own bedroom in years so he couldn’t care less about what it looks like. Edward kicks his shoes off as he sits on the edge of the mattress. He sits there alone in a comfortable silence. Taking his time to set up a plan. Today marks the first step in going home. In the pit of silence Edward loses track of time and only leaves his room when his father calls him out to eat dinner. They plan on going shopping for Edward tomorrow. He needs clothes, sheets for his bed and books for when he starts his classes. There’s a lot of things he needs. All that can wait for the sun to rise again.

   Shopping districts are huge here. Multiple stories just for buying clothes? He will never get over the moving stairs. Elevators have evolved here too. As advanced as it is the idea of it isn’t that different in concept. It’s just being smart about land usage. Stacking instead of spreading. Hohenheim takes him through lots of stores. Sizing him up and getting him clothes that will help him blend in. His father’s sense of fashion is way too normal for him. Edward wishes he could use alchemy more than ever right now because if he has to try on one more button down and cardigan, he is going to go insane. As they are walking through the mall Edward see’s this group of kids probably his age and stares for a moment.

Those are definitely leather pants.

   He breaks away from his father and walks over to them. “ **_Uh...Excuse me._ ** ” They turn their attention over to Ed. “ **_Can I ask where did you get your pants from?_ ** ” A girl in the group snorts and Edward blinks at her. What did he say that was funny? He turns back to the boy and waits for an answer. He looks over at one of the other members of the group and whispers in her ear.

   “He asked-”

   “Oh thank god you speak English.” He cuts her off and rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “I just wanted to know where you got your pants from.” Are his cheeks...Red? He dismisses it without a thought. “My old man is taking me shopping and I am tired of ugly dress pants.”

   “I-I got them from Hot topic. It’s right on the other end of the mall on this floor..” Edward smiles and nods his head turning on his heel to walk away.

   “Thanks for the help!” He walks off waving his hand as he turns looking around for Hohenheim. He doesn’t get that far away from the group before he hears the girl that laughed at him say, _told you he was staring at your ass go ask for his number,_ Did she really think that? Sure he was staring but it was because he genuinely wanted to know where his pants were from. He keeps walking, keeping an eye out for his father as he makes his way over to the store the boy spoke of. Edward flinches at the feeling of a hand on his shoulder, he instinctively pulls back and goes to swing-

   But Hohenheim grabs his wrist before it can connect to his jaw. “Where did you run off to?” Edward slowly drops his arm and looks down. Shame. He takes a deep breath and starts walking. Not bothering to respond. He has to find this _Hot Topic._ Edward keeps his gaze moving until he spots it. Without warning he walks into the store. Ed has never been a believer of God. But boy is he one now because this is heaven.

They go home with their money well spent. There is just enough to make dinner tonight.

   Edward didn’t even realize he fell asleep on the train ride home until Hohenheim woke him up. He’s tired and hungry. Despite living in this world for so long he still hasn’t made a proper routine. His body isn’t used to running around chasing monsters anymore. He’s lost weight in both fat and in muscle. Sure he knows he’ll gain it back one he starts using his limbs more often but it just sucks. He can’t eat as much either. It makes his stomach hurt. He just wants things to go back to the way they were. When the two get back to the apartment Edward puts his new clothes in his dresser before slipping into a comfortable pair of sweats and a red hoodie. He tries to get some studying in while sitting on the couch while his father starts working on dinner. His body thinks dreaming of being home is a better idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter done! There we go. Get ready for some familiar faces next chapter. It's about to get good.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go guys. Another chapter. I hope you guys like it. I'm already working on the next few. Also another (few) stories are in the making I hope you will like those as well. Also please remember to subscribe to the story to make sure you never miss out on a chapter. Kudos and comments are always welcome.  
> Key: Bold + Italic = German  
> Bold = French  
> Normal = English

   “You have everything you need right?” Edward shoots a glare over at his father as he puts another folder in his bag. They are going to check out the university after Edward finishes today’s physical therapy. “I’ll go pack our meals okay?” Taking a seat on the bed he lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He curls his leg up and rests his head on his knee. The weather is getting to him but if he tells Hohenheim he’ll make him postpone the trip to the university again. That’s what happened to him last week. His ports hurt and he was throwing up. He should be used to this. Turns out he never will. It just makes him want his body back more than ever. Rubbing at where the leg connects to his skin he takes a deep breath and stands up making his way down the stairs to meet his father in the kitchen. He’s filling up the thermos with soup for their lunch. It’s so cold in Germany. Winter in Resembool never got this cold.

   They get to the hospital around noon. The lady at the desk is always so nice to Edward. He can always hear her talking about how beautiful foreigners are when he walks past. He always tells Armony about it as they walk around. “You should ask her out, she’s nice. She has a bunch of cats though.” Edward cringes, thinking of his brother. She would be better for Alphonse. He has nothing against cats.He remembers trying to convince his mother to save some when it was raining out. “Or are you not into women?” Edward’s knees buckle and his face reddens as he leans against the wall for support. Totally caught off guard. “I won’t judge you, I totally get it. Men are hot.”

He has never been more thankful for his father walking into the room to sign him out.

   Together in an awkward silence they walk to the train station. That is until Hohenheim starts chuckling into his palm. Edward snaps his head towards him and glares. “What the hell is so funny you old fart!” He screams stomping his foot down. It only makes his father’s laughter grow louder.”Seriously!”

   “You- You’ve had this red face ever since I got you from the doctor’s. What happened?” Edward tenses up and looks away. “See that one. That’s the face.” Edward shakes his head and flips him off, taking a sharp left turn before arriving at the train. The whole ride is going to be insufferable if his father doesn’t leave him alone about this. He pays for both of their tickets and hands the other one to his father only to walk away and sit on the bench. Looking down and away from Hohenheim he rubs at his leg. He’s tired and it’s starting to hurt. He looks up at the clouds and sighs. It’s not like Ed can blame the pain on the weather. There isn’t a single cloud in the sky. It is still pretty cold out, he might just get away with it if his father asks. When Hohenheim stands back up that’s when he knows the train is almost there. He stands up and grunts. Why did they have to go to the university right after Physical Therapy? Couldn’t it have waited a few hours?

   Edward is careful as they board the train and walk over to the first available seats. No extra walking necessary. He flops down and keeps his eyes out the window. Everytime he looks over at his father he can tell the man is just waiting for him to tell him what happened at the hospital. Ed won’t lose at this game. He won’t tell him. Tell him how Armony asked him if he was gay. That she read him like a book. That his normal excuse of not being ‘in the country’ for much longer didn’t even seem real to her. At the thought his cheeks warm up and he snaps his gaze away. His glare burning a hole in the window as he listens to his father chuckle. Damn bastard finds this funny? Edward will show him what’s funny when his fist connects with Hohenheim’s face. He has punched him with his metal hand before, he wonders how much more it will hurt if he uses his new one. As the train comes to a stop he decides to postpone beating his father to a pulp.

   Edward holds his bag close to his side as he stands up and makes his way off the train waiting at the edge for Hohenheim. The train station is on the other side of the street to the University. He can stare at it all day if given the chance. How big is the library in this thing? He turns to see Hohenheim talking to a bunch of people his age or a bit older. Students. He sighs and walks across the street without him walking right through the gates. Taking his time walking around. People point at him and his face reddens. He pockets his hands into his jacket, he forgets it’s not normally acceptable for prosthetic limbs in this world. The pointing doesn’t stop though. Girls giggle at him and turn away when he looks at them. He stops walking and looks around. He tenses up at the feeling of something rub against his leg.

   He looks down and there’s a cat following him. He bends down and picks up the cat by its scruff glaring at it. “You. You are the reason everyone has been staring at me.” He glares at the cat and puts it down gently petting it’s his head. A pretty blonde cat. He sighs and frowns at it. Al would have loved a cat like this.“Thanks for the reminder kitty.” He takes a deep breath and stands back up. He needs to go to the library and study and get back to Alphonse. He doesn’t have time to be wasting like this. Edward begins walking off now looking for his father, trying his very best to ignore the cat following him. Ten minutes pass and he can’t find Hohenheim. Edward takes a seat on a bench and decides to wait it out. The cat joins him, laying on his lap as Ed pets it. He has completely forgot that he can just call his father on his cell phone in his bag.

   Speaking of his bag, Ed reaches into it and pulls out a book. Keeping his mind active keeps him sane no matter how crazy he would seem to the people of this world if he told them the truth. Flipping through the pages he continues to pet the cat. It’s so soft under his fingers. Every few pages he looks up checking to see if his father is around. A person catches his eye. They are odd. Looking under benches, up in the trees. He turns to the cat and picks it up walking to the person. He clears his throat and holds the cat close. “ **_Excuse me are you looking for this?_ ** ” The person turns around and Edward drops his book his eyes going wide. Staring up at him is an older blue eyed version of his brother.

   “ **_Eduard! Where did you run off to?_ ** ” The fake-Alphonse takes the cat and Ed looks away. Of course. The cat has a name close to his. “ **_Thank you for finding him, he lives in the library and someone let him loose on accident._ ** ” Nodding his head he quietly picks up his book. “ **_Oh Professor Hohenheim! How are you?_ ** ” Ed turns around quickly and frowns at his father. He steps over to stand at his side and goes through his father’s bag.

   “ **_I am well Heiderich, how is your biomechanics course going? You graduate soon correct?_ ** ” Heiderich. That’s good. At least they don’t have the same name. His father and wanna be Alphonse talk for a little while, whilst Edward starts snacking on the things his father packed. Heiderich puts the cat down and it walks over to Ed. He sighs and picks it up. Gently petting his head. Whispering gently to it. Joking around that they are both Ed. He turns to watch them talk and catches Heiderich smiling at him. He tenses up and hands the cat back to him turning to his father.

   “Can we go now?” Hohenheim nods his head and smiles at Heiderich, saying their goodbyes. As they part ways Ed can hear Heiderich scolding the cat for running off. He doesn’t know if he should be uncomfortable or laugh. “He- He has Al’s face.” He admits out loud. He takes a deep breath and rubs his shoulder. “Let’s just get this tour over with, I am hungry and I want to check out the lib- the labs.” He did want to go to the library but if Al- If Heiderich was going to be there he was going to avoid it for now.

   Hohenheim takes him through all the buildings. Introducing him to his work friends and the professors Edward will be having in the upcoming trimester. It’s a nice school. Very relaxed. The things people are working on creating are amazing. He knows he’ll be comfortable here. The people think his limbs are cool. They just want to know how they work and how they were made. It reminds him of Winry and Rush Valley. They eat lunch in his father’s classroom. It’s quiet. There’s a knocking on the door and they both look over. A familiar blonde is standing in the doorway. Edward tenses and looks down. “ **_I thought you’d be in here. Eduard kept whining since you left. I guess he likes you. I never got your name, and Professor you never told me you have a son._ ** ”

   Heiderich puts the cat down on the ground and walks over to their side. “Edward.” Heiderich tilts his head to the side as Edward picks up the cat. “ **_My name. It’s Edward._ ** ” Heiderich snorts and Ed frowns, hiding his face in the cat’s fur. Edward goes quiet as the two talk. They try to include him in the conversation but he just ignores them. It’s uncomfortable. Seeing this version of Alphonse. If it wasn’t for his eyes he would have sworn this is what Al would grow up to be. He doesn’t even notice he is gone until the cat squirms out of his hold to follow after him. He looks up at his father and sighs at the look of disapproval. The same look he saw when he caught his father leaving them when he was a child. It hurts. “I want to go home.” Hohenheim sighs and starts packing their things up walking towards the door. “That’s no what I meant. I meant I want to go home. It’s been months. It’s almost December. I have no idea what Al is doing I need to go home.”

“I’m working on it.”

**Author's Note:**

> Quite a long chapter right? Thank you for reading this. Please leave Kudos and maybe even subscribe so you don't have to worry about missing out on updates. Comments are always nice. How am I supposed to know if I am doing the right things if you guys don't tell me what you think you know? Another chapter is in the making so you won't have to wait long for an update. This isn't the only story I have too. Go give my others a read.


End file.
